Video: Cardboard cops help control traffic

While they may not be practical for more active situations, they work long hours and don't take bribes

By Carol Kuruvilla
New York Daily News

BANGALORE, India — Police in Bangalore are trying out a new method to cut down on the traffic problems that plague the crowded southern Indian city. They’ve placed life-sized cutouts of cops at three bustling intersections, possibly more, hoping that the very sight of the grimacing uniformed policemen will cause reckless drivers to slow down.

'The tendency among road users is that whenever they see there is no traffic policemen at any stretch of the road, they try to violate traffic rules,” police commissioner M.A. Saleem, told NDTV.

The city of 8.5 million residents has at least 4.2 million vehicles on its roads. Bangalore police would need at least 500 more traffic cops to adequately manage the flow of traffic, Saleem said. Although the cardboard cops are a temporary fix, Saleem says they’re doing a good job.